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Forty years ago today the world’s eyes turned to the heavens as American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon.

An estimated 500 million people across the globe watched as Armstrong captured the moment with the immortal words ‘that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’.

The grainy pictures beamed back to earth seemed to open up a whole new world of possibilities for the human race.  

Apollo 11 astronaut on the moon pic:NASA

Martin Ahier from the Jersey Astronomy Club was one of those watching and he shared his memories with BBC Jersey.

Vietnam

Mr Ahier said: “Well, the BBC transmitted the pictures through via Goonhilly satellite. I was sitting in my lounge with my parents watching the moon landing. It was a very significant event and it was a fantastic technical achievement.”

The immeasurable courage displayed by the astronauts still inspires new generations and NASA is currently planning a return voyage to the moon codenamed, ‘Constellation.’

But why has if taken so long to return to the moon? Mr Ahier explained: “The Apollo program got cut short because America was involved in the Vietnam war.

“The space program got shut down, with the exception of the development of the space shuttle. This was seen as a cheaper alternative to having huge Saturn five rockets using millions of gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to get up to altitude.”

Lunar Eclipse

Was it faked?

In Mr Ahier’s view the only thing comparable with the lunar landing is the early days of nautical exploration.

He said: “When you think of the circumnavigation of the world by sailing ship in the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly, the adventures of Sir Walter Raleigh and Captain Cook. They are the same analogy you could have with the Apollo space program.

“However, this is somewhat different as man did go to another world. Even if it is our own satellite and that is the major difference.

There are a number of people that believe the lunar landing never happened, that is was staged and filmed in a studio in Hollywood. Mr Ahier is surprisingly open-minded to some of these theories.

He said: “Well, they present a good case. You could say that all the photographic evidence could be reproduced on earth. However, there is one slight problem. The astronauts brought back lunar soils and lunar rocks. We know lunar soils are very different from terrestrial soils. For one thing, there is no life in lunar soils.”

Photo: The Faulkes Telescope Project

Have your say

Do you remember the lunar landing? Do you think that one day space travel will be possible for everyone? Do you believe the landings were faked? Will man ever colonise the moon?